Community Development

In the auspicious month of Kartik, many were feeling the separation from Vrindavana Dhama due to the global pandemic. But in a virtual pushback to the pandemic, ISKCON-London’s Retreat Team hosted a weekend of nectar with online talks centred around the childhood pastimes of Lord Krishna. Held over the weekend of 21st and 22nd November, over 300 attendees relished the different encounters of the Lord as the Darling of Vrindavana.

Sutapa dasa kick-started the event with a dynamic presentation on the killing of Trnavarta. He cleverly highlighted how if knowledge does not lead to humility then pride develops and this pride is the cause of a falldown. Amarendra dasa then crafted a detailed journey of the Damodara pastime, of Mother Yashoda binding Lord Krishna. So many gems were revealed. We know the two fingers represent effort and mercy, but which finger represents mercy and which represents effort? We now know that the shorter finger represents effort and the longer finger mercy, emphasising the importance of mercy over our effort. Finally, Mahatma dasa spoke about the deliverance of the Yamala Arjuna trees, ending day one.

Day two had even more gems that sparkled through the web. Candramauli Swami took the excited audience through the childhood pastimes of Lord Krishna. Being the auspicious occasion of Gopastami, during the afternoon session, Deena Bandhu dasa then teleported all to Vrindavana whilst he described the different pastime places where Krishna would herd the cows. And finally, Janananda Goswami delved into the details of the killing of the demon Dhenukasura.

Each day ended with a live darshan of Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara and the singing of the Damodarastakam prayers. It was a retreat to remember.

Watch the retreat classes here: https://bit.ly/krishnadarlingofvrindavan-playlist